Unified campaign to improve reading
If indeed it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to educate one. Schools are not islands unto themselves.
The youngest children need the most attention, from infancy to third grade. Education research indicates third grade is the critical time for students to advance from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” The development of comprehension skills and mastering more complex material at this age pays off with greater possibilities of lifelong achievement.
This year’s scores from the state’s English language arts test given to third-graders came out last month, reflecting the hard work at hand in raising reading proficiency. Overall, 47 percent of Manatee County third-graders passed with a score of 3 or higher on the 5-point scale. That represents a 1 percentage point increase over last year, a very modest gain.
That also means 53 percent failed. That percentage represents about 2,200 students who need extra help in mastering this vital skill. The school district and the greater community are well aware of the considerable challenges outside the classroom that hinder progress, including socioeconomic, family and parenting factors. Children from low-income families account for the majority of the poor scores. Teachers, try as they might, cannot be the lone bulwark on reading.
Manatee County’s overall pass rate lags behind the statewide average of 54 percent. But most heartening are the sizable gains at six elementary schools, ranging from 19 percentage points to 10. Plus, five schools earned passing marks from 76 percent to 79.
This is the second year of Florida’s tougher assessments based on the higher standards set in the state’s version of Common Core, known as Florida Standards, which puts additional pressure on educators and students. Third grade is the first year students take state tests.
Fortunately, Florida law provides leeway on student promotion and requires third-graders who score the lowest achievement mark — Level 1 — be retained only if they don’t qualify for advancement under one of several exemptions, including a portfolio of classroom achievement. While Level 2 students also failed the test, the state doesn’t require retention.
The Manatee County School District’s deputy superintendent of instruction, Cynthia Saunders, admitted that third grade “is our weakest area.” This is true for districts around the country, sparking the creation of a national movement called the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, which is focused on boosting the reading skills of children from infancy to the third grade. Manatee County formally joined Sarasota’s budding effort last year under the banner of Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.
Third-grade mastery of reading and writing are pivotal indicators of an individual’s future success in life. This should put greater community emphasis on Manatee’s participation in the campaign.
Teachers cannot be held responsible for children’s circumstances outside schools. Enter the reading campaigns, now in more than 200 communities. The campaign focuses on five factors in the challenge to boost children: school readiness and early learning; chronic absence; summer learning; healthy readers, and parent/family engagement.
More than 40 Manatee and Sarasota organizations and entities are involved in the campaign, a significant investment in children. United Way of Manatee County, the Manatee Community Foundation, the school district and the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee are just some. Others are welcome to join, including volunteers who are willing to donate even just one hour a week reading to children.
United Way is playing a leading role in the campaign, focusing first on attendance through awareness and incentive programs. An Early Learning Community Task Force has been formed to support the work and goals of attendance in Manatee schools. Some 10,000 Manatee and Sarasota students have been identified as being chronically absent, or missing 18 days of school a year. Regular attendance is vital to academic achievement.
In a strategic effort targeting Manatee’s 25 Title I schools, the district hired 25 graduation enhancement technicians whose sole purpose is working with families struggling to get their children to school and keep them there throughout the day. The technicians work with school social workers to educate and reduce barriers faced by families.
These are just some of the valuable programs designed to not only raise third-grade reading scores, but build a stronger community through achievement in education.
Learn more about the campaign by visiting gradelevelreadingsuncoast.net.
This story was originally published June 2, 2016 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Unified campaign to improve reading."